KIM LAWTON: At Washington's National Cathedral, interfaith leaders held their own summit and issued a joint statement demanding that the UN do more to end poverty. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joined them.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT (National Democratic Institute): The God who gave us hope about the next life also gave us gifts to use in this one, such as eyes and ears, a conscience and a voice.
LAWTON: Five years ago, UN leaders agreed on eight goals to cut poverty and hunger in half, and to combat child mortality and disease -- all by the year 2015. They are called the Millennium Development Goals. As part of that, some countries set a target of giving seven-tenths of one percent of their gross national product for international aid. The U.S. initially did, but now appears to have backed off.Religious leaders across the spectrum say the UN is way behind in meeting those goals, and they accuse the U.S. of not doing its share. Many were angered by amendments offered by the new U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Bolton.
Reverend RICHARD CIZIK (vice president, governmental affairs, National Association of Evangelicals): I would say today to Ambassador Bolton, "Remember, poverty from our point of view must be a central concern of American foreign policy. And so, will you keep your commitments?"LAWTON: In his UN speech on Wednesday, President Bush said the U.S. remains dedicated to helping the world's poor.
President GEORGE W. BUSH: We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals. We have a moral obligation to help others and a moral duty to make sure our actions are effective.
LAWTON: Religious groups say they will continue pushing the UN and the U.S. to do just that.
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Joining me now with more on this is Father Drew Christiansen, editor-in-chief of the Jesuit magazine AMERICA and co-author of the book FORGIVENESS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.Father Christiansen, there seemed to be some conflicting signals all this week. How do we end up? Is the UN committed to meeting these goals to end poverty?
Rev. CHRISTIANSEN: Well, I think the president is for the relief of world poverty. [It is] not clear where people around him -- like Mr. Bolton -- are that are generally opposed to international commitments. And although the president has made some very unique commitments, the government has not been effective in kind of implementing them. And so I think a lot of countries around the world, including our allies, are asking how much will the U.S. really commit to this process, and how soon will they do it?
